“We just pray everyday that the lord will bless him and strengthen him and see him through this,” said Lt. Mike Naples, Riverdale Fire Department.

Firefighter Michael McClary, 19, escaped with rib cartilage damage and first degree burns on his hands.

His mother, Cheryl McClary, says "underneath it all we're all one big family. And though some of us are strangers we're all the same.

There to help them get back on their feet is volunteer Fire Chief Chuck Ryan. Last April, Ryan--a veteran member of the D.C. Fire Department--was burned on 40 percent of his body and almost died in a flashover.